Practice emergency call system

Abstract

An emergency call practice application can execute on user equipment (UE) to allow users to practice dialing 9-1-1 or other emergency numbers. In a network practice mode, the emergency call practice application can initiate a practice emergency call by sending a call setup message to an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). The IMS can route the call setup message to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) routing server, which can recognize a destination identifier in the call setup message as being associated with a test server instead of a PSAP. The PSAP routing server can forward the call setup message to the test server to connect the practice emergency call.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 detecting, via an emergency call practice application executing on a user equipment (UE), a current location of the UE; 
 determining, by the emergency call practice application, one or more local emergency numbers associated with the current location of the UE; 
 receiving, via the emergency call practice application, user input associated with dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers, wherein the dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers by the UE directs a call to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) over a telecommunication network; 
 generating, by the emergency call practice application, a call setup message that includes a destination identifier of a test server associated with the dialed emergency number, wherein the destination identifier of the test server in the call setup message is configured to redirect, over the telecommunication network, the call to the test server rather than the PSAP; 
 causing, by the emergency call practice application, the call setup message to be transmitted by the UE to the telecommunication network to the test server rather than the PSAP; and 
 receiving, by the emergency call practice application, a response message from the test server that confirms that the test server successfully received the call setup message from the UE. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 connecting, by the emergency call practice application, a practice emergency call with the test server based on receiving the response message; and 
 presenting, by the emergency call practice application, user feedback from the test server via the UE. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the destination identifier is a phone number associated with the test server that is different from the emergency number. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the call setup message comprises including a service identifier associated with a type of emergency service corresponding to the emergency number. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a user interface of the emergency call practice application displays at least one practice mode indicator configured to inform a user that the emergency call practice application is different from a native phone dialer of the UE. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one practice mode indicator is a countdown timer. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user input is a sequence of digits dialed by a user that match the emergency number. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user input is a sequence of presses of one or more hardware buttons on the UE that match a predefined silent dialing sequence associated with the emergency number. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , further comprising displaying, by the emergency call practice application, a silent dialing sequence indicator in a user interface that indicates the predefined silent dialing sequence. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 displaying, by the emergency call practice application, a list of the one or more local emergency numbers in a user interface. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising causing, by the emergency call practice application, the UE to establish a dedicated connection with the telecommunication network, wherein the UE transmits the call setup message to the telecommunication network via the dedicated connection. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the emergency call practice application has a local practice mode wherein the user input is locally compared by the emergency call practice application against one or more predefined emergency numbers to verify that the user input matches the emergency number. 
     
     
       13. A user equipment (UE) comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to perform operations comprising:
 detecting, via an emergency call practice application executing on a user equipment (UE), a current location of the UE; 
 determining, by the emergency call practice application, one or more local emergency numbers associated with the current location of the UE; 
 receiving, via the emergency call practice application, user input associated with dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers, wherein the dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers by the UE directs a call to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) over a telecommunication network; 
 generating, by the emergency call practice application, a call setup message that includes a destination identifier of a test server associated with the dialed emergency number, wherein the destination identifier of the test server in the call setup message is configured to redirect, over the telecommunication network, the call to the test server rather than the PSAP; 
 transmitting the call setup message to the telecommunication network to the test server rather than the PSAP; and 
 receiving a response message from the test server that confirms that the test server successfully received the call setup message from the UE. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 connecting a practice emergency call with the test server based on receiving the response message; and 
 presenting user feedback from the test server. 
 
     
     
       15. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein generating the call setup message comprises including a service identifier associated with a type of emergency service corresponding to the emergency number. 
     
     
       16. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein a user interface of the emergency call practice application displays at least one practice mode indicator configured to inform a user that the emergency call practice application is different from a native phone dialer of the UE. 
     
     
       17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 detecting, via an emergency call practice application executing on a user equipment (UE), a current location of the UE; 
 determining, by the emergency call practice application, one or more local emergency numbers associated with the current location of the UE; 
 receiving, via the emergency call practice application, user input associated with dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers, wherein the dialing one of the one or more local emergency numbers by the UE directs a call to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) over a telecommunication network; 
 generating, by the emergency call practice application, a call setup message that includes a destination identifier of a test server associated with the dialed emergency number, wherein the destination identifier of the test server in the call setup message is configured to redirect, over the telecommunication network, the call to the test server rather than the PSAP; 
 transmitting the call setup message to the telecommunication network server rather than the PSAP; and 
 receiving a response message from the test server that confirms that the test server successfully received the call setup message from the UE. 
 
     
     
       18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 connecting a practice emergency call with the test server based on receiving the response message; and 
 presenting user feedback from the test server. 
 
     
     
       19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , wherein generating the call setup message comprises including a service identifier associated with a type of emergency service corresponding to the emergency number. 
     
     
       20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , wherein a user interface of the emergency call practice application displays at least one practice mode indicator configured to inform a user that the emergency call practice application is different from a native phone dialer of the UE.